Year 2 of Research Club's Philosophy Course Is Underway
August 17, 2011 6:49 AMSubscribe

Year 2 of Research Club's Philosophy Course Is UnderwayLast year we had a 9 week overview of western philosophy geared towards artists and makers. This year we tackle the history and philosophy of the idea of the rhizome, among other things. It's an introduction to philosophy for artists, an introduction to psychoanalysis for philosophers, an introduction to pragmatics for psychoanalysts and an introduction to art for pragmatists. This happens in Portland, OR, but you can follow online. Week 3 is online in its entirety, and there's more to follow. Also, our instructor is hosting reading groups under the name First Hand Philosophy.

About the class: Vernon Anthony Carter leads a discussion about the history of the rhizome idea that lies at the heart of Research Club itself. The idea that sprung out of the collaboration between Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari is itself a metaphor derived from biology: the root structure (rhizome, as Wikipedia will tell you, means 'mass of roots' in Greek) of plants like potatoes, hops, asparagus, ginger, and (a favorite of RC itself) aspen, shoots roots from nodes that connect into a network, though after Deleuze and Guattari get ahold of it the rhizome extends into spaces far beyond the topsoil, inspiring networked decentralized organizational structures that allow for seemingly unrelated pieces to form mutually beneficial wholes.

In this course, we'll explore how this idea emerged out of changes in the practice of psychoanalysis, from Freud's original break with the hypnotic work of Charcot and Breur to Guattari's La Borde Clinic, with all kinds of interesting squeezed in between. You don't need to know anything to show up, and every class is guaranteed to be mind meltingly orchestrated to send you back out into the world with new concepts, new possibilities for practice, and quite possibly a few new friends whether you've been coming to every single session or have just dropped by for a quick taste of the madness. Join us Sunday afternoons every week at 3pm at galleryHomeland.